


The Hunt of Death

by JumperDarling



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:15:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28735587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JumperDarling/pseuds/JumperDarling
Summary: Hunting in the woods is not always safe.





	The Hunt of Death

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally thought up when I was in middle school, but was revamped during high school for a class project. I don't remember if the original was longer (it might be longer), so if I find it, I'll add it on. Originally called "Skunk Forest" (I was in a huge skunk phase), it was renamed "The Hunt of Death" for the class project related to Poe short stories. This was also partially influenced by The Hunger Games, as I was reading those around this time as well.

I pushed myself harder. Just a little faster now. I put on one last burst of speed, my legs flying faster than they ever had before. My feet pounded the earth, the sounds muffled by the soft dirt beneath my boots. The doe leaped through the trees before me, jumping from shadow to shadow.

At last, I had drawn close enough to get a shot at my dinner-to-be. My hands flew as fast as my feet as they drew the arrow, already notched, and prepared to let it sail. Time almost seemed to slow down as the arrow found its path through the dense air, its destination clear and open--the deer’s heart. I released my hold on the arrow and felt it sail through the fog, and pierced the doe’s chest, lodging itself deep in her beating heart.

As the doe stumbled and began its final descent onto the earth, as it drew its last breath, the mist suddenly grew thicker, more opposing. It closed in on me, threatening to crush me with its weight and darkness. Time slowed down even more, and I struggled to take a breath. The feeling of fear, of death, of danger, of foreboding washed over me once more.

The carcass of what was meant to be my meal hit the ground, a dull thud reverberating through the thick fog. It was then that I saw it--a tall imposing figure swathed in black, swirling robes, drifting on the dense air like silk, but heavy and exuding a feeling of doom. No face could be seen, only a patch of pure darkness cast by the shadow of the cloak. But, although I could not see any face, I could feel its eyes on me. It had come for me.

The silence of the fog began to crush me beneath its weight, suffocating me with its stillness and thickness as it wrapped around me like a cage, a trap. The only sounds that kept me from succumbing to the silence was the soft, faint rasping breath of the demon, the spirit, the  _ thing _ standing beside my recent kill.

With the last of my strength, I struggled against the forces keeping me in place and drew my final arrow, notching it and aiming at this new arrival. Drawing on an inner strength I never knew I had, I drew back the string. The bow in my hands sprang alive, tension and power rippling through it.

This was a monster of darkness, a creature of death and destruction. A monster that existed purely to destroy lives. And it wanted me dead.

With that, I let my arrow fly.


End file.
